With attacks on Palestinians by settlers commonplace, the last thing Hebron needs is the removal of international observers

"The situation is getting worse here," says Zleikha Muhtaseb, the principal of a Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron's old city. "After the intifada calmed down, we thought things were improving, but now it's getting worse again: roadblocks are increasing, soldiers are attacking Palestinians at checkpoints, and the settlers are becoming more violent. Day and night the settlers threaten [local Palestinians], throwing stones and trying to burn their property, in order to put more and more pressure on them."

Since the establishment of Israeli settlements in Hebron, life has never been easy for the Palestinian residents, who have felt the full force of the occupation come down on their city and stifle the area both economically and socially. In the once-heaving sou-